On the Market: A Melrose Cottage Brimming with Retro Charm
This suburban single-family boasts oodles of well-preserved 1950s features, and a lovely landscaped backyard with its own greenhouse to boot.
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
20 Mount Zion Road, Melrose
Price: $599,900
Size: 1,355 square feet
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 1.5
It’s hard to look at this Melrose home and not become instantly smitten. Built in 1951 by the seller’s grandfather, a skilled carpenter, the single-family is filled with one-of-a-kind wooden features. Peep the gray siding on the front of the home, cut into incongruous layers that give a storybook feel to the facade.
The red and white oak floors are another notable gift, as are all of the home’s maple built-ins, and the kitchen’s custom cabinetry. The eat-in is actually almost completely original to when the home was first built, thanks to durable speckled linoleum flooring and walls tiled in a toned-down ketchup and mustard color scheme—buttery yellow squares of ceramic with deep red, rectangular borders. (Original pastel-colored tiles outfit the bathrooms, too.) Brand new stainless appliances balance out all of that 1960s charm, making for a fully functional kitchen that just so happens to be a retro daydream. A pantry extends off of the room boasting extra cupboard and counter space. And just to the right of the room’s entryway is a small built-in cubby that the listing agent believes to be another relic of yesteryear: Previously used to stash a rotary phone and phonebooks, you can now use the niche and narrow cabinets for whatever odds and end you want to keep tucked away but close at hand.
Beyond woodworking, this cottage’s architect handled his own concrete mixing. You can see his handiwork in the backyard, where stone walls and interconnected paved paths wind around the sloped lawn. Off the basement, a greenhouse is another result of his craftsmanship, built so that he could grow fresh tomatoes all year round. For the avid gardener hoping to land digs within shouting distance of the city, this is it. “One of my favorite features of the property is that in the winter, when the leaves are off the trees, you can see the entire Boston skyline lit up at night,” the seller says.
For information, contact Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate, bradhutchinson.com.
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
Photo by Boston REP Photography via Chad Erenhouse, Brad Hutchinson Real Estate
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